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Ottawa Senators win streak comes to an end with 2-1 loss to Boston Bruins 0

Ottawa Senators left wing David Dziurzynski (L), defenseman Sergei Gonchar (top) and right wing Chris Neil (R) clear Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic out from the front of the net in the third period of their NHL hockey game in Boston, Massachusetts February 28, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

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Their winning streak was stopped, but the Senators won't fret too long about the result in Beantown Thursday night.

At least they grabbed a point when few figured them to get any.

Patrice Bergeron scored on a deflection with 1:21 left in overtime to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory and Ottawa its first loss in six games. Fans at TD Garden had to hold back on celebrating while the winning goal was under review, but replay showed it indeed crossed the line after squeaking through Senators goalie Robin Lehner, who made 44 saves on the night.

On the deciding goal, Lehner's blocker became entangled with a Bruin so he pulled his hand out of it to grab the puck. He was just a split second too late.

"They threw a lot of pucks at us ... and unfortunately at the end they got a stick on it and a lucky bounce I think," Lehner said. "I couldn't really recover, so I had to take my hand out and it still got in."

"We played a really good road game. It's very hard to win in this building."

The Senators put up a strong fight against the team generally considered the best in the East. The Bruins have only lost twice in regulation.

"We hung in there when we needed to," Senators defenceman Chris Phillips said. "Robin was there when we needed him.

"You take what you can and you move on. We almost got outshot 2-1 and you can't expect to get any points if you continue to do that ... unless the goalies keep playing the way are."

Three games from the midway mark of their schedule, the leading active goal scorer on the Senators is Jim O'Brien, the former first-round pick who has spent most of the season on the fourth line but has also been a healthy scratch for three games.

Nathan Horton scored the other Bruins goal.

Lehner was given his first start of this NHL season by coach Paul MacLean, who was well aware that the 21-year old Swede shutout the B's at TD Garden exactly one year to the day earlier.

He was, in a word, outstanding.

The players, meanwhile, wondered if either of the Bruins goals made it to the back of the net. It was a close margin of defeat.

The Senators have allowed eight goals in their last six games. Twelve of their 21 games have been decided by one goal.

"We got a point on the road in a tough building," said MacLean, before making clear his thoughts on the schedule. "They should be a good team. They've played the fewest games (17) in the league, they've had the most time to practise."

Tuukka Rask, an unfamiliar foe for the Senators, at least in games played here, also was excellent. The last 11 times they visited Boston, the Senators found Tim Thomas waiting for them in the B's net.

The win pulled the Bruins into second place, just one point behind the conference-leading Montreal Canadiens. The Senators remain close behind with 27 points.

The Senators went on the power play when Milan Lucic was called for closing his hand on the puck, behind the Ottawa net, with 32 seconds left in regulation time.

That penalty effectively guaranteed them a point when few gave them a chance of getting one against the powerful B's.

The Senators tied it up on the power play, breaking a string of 27 consecutive kills by the Bruins. Naturally, that trick was turned on a combined effort from Patrick Wiercioch, Kaspars Daugavins, Zack Smith and O'Brien.

As he has done a good number of times already this season, Wiercioch started the play with a stretch pass that sent Daugavins in on a breakaway. His attempt to deke Rask failed, so the "Daug" fetched the loose puck behind the Bruins net and put it back out front.

In the ensuing scramble, Smith kept the play alive before O'Brien finally flipped it in.

At the time, it qualified as the second ugly goal of the game.

The Bruins solved Lehner 5:48 into the second on an excuse me shot from Horton.

THREE STARS

Patrice Bergeron scored the winning goal, had five shots on goal and won 65% of his faceoffs.

Robin Lehner made 44 saves on the night. He stopped all 11 shots he faced in the first and 17 of 18 in the second.

Tuuka Rask after a quiet first period, made some big saves in the Senators 15 shot second period.

TURNING POINT

The Senators finally came to life after falling behind 1-0. For much of the first 26 minutes, they created nothing.

THUMBS UP

Patrick Wiercioch has fast earned a reputation for his long bomb. In the second period he sent Kaspars Daugavins on a breakaway with a long pass, leading to an Ottawa power play goal.

THUMBS DOWN

Kyle Turris slump has now stretched to 17 games. He didn’t play poorly - he was stoned on by Rask twice - but the Senators need their first line centre to produce